Iola High School graduate Emerald Catron is bringing her on-stage experiences home to Iola.
Catron will be returning to the area long enough to offer a series of long-form improvisational theater workshops. The classes will run from July 10 to 14, capped by a 20-minute public performance July 15 at the Iola Community Theatre.
Two classes will be available, both limited to 16 students. A class for teenagers will run from 1 to 4 p.m., and a class for adults from 7 to 10 p.m. The cost of either is $25.
Catron, Chicago, graduated from IHS in 2000. She went on to graduate from Bennington College in Vermont with a degree in music composition and sound design for video. Since then, she has completed programs at the Peoples Improv Theater in New York City and Annoyance Theater in Chicago. She has studied under Second City ETC director Jeff Michalski and performed at venues such as The Peoples Improv Theater, Magnet Theater and Joe’s Pub off-broadway.
Improv classes of this type would typically cost $200 to $300 in a larger city, Catron said.
“I really wanted to bring this back to Iola,” she said. “I wanted to make it affordable so that (Iolans) could experience it, too.”
Long-form improv expands on a scene by adding structures that connect multiple scenes. The result is an entire show deriving from an initial idea. Long-form performers create the conditions as the story unfolds.
The benefits of experiencing an improv theatre workshop extend outside the acting realm, said Catron. Participants will develop teamwork and listening skills, self-confidence and interviewing and public speaking skills, Catron said. Added benefits include learning how to react to their scene partners, how to make strong character choices for themselves and the importance of committing themselves to a scene so they never have to walk away feeling like they could have done more.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Catron said. Lawyers, bankers and people working in advertising can all benefit, she said. Basically anyone who engages in conversation.
Sign-up for the class is through the Iola Community Theatre Facebook page or by calling Catron’s mother, Tracy Keagle, at 620-333-2477.
Former Iolan offers theater improv workshop
